Marijuana found along coastal St. Johns County for third time in a week

For the third time in just over a week, marijuana has been found along coastal St. Johns County.

The St. Augustine Police Department says 50-60 pounds washed up in their jurisdiction. Over the weekend, the Coast Guard and the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office found several packages of marijuana in the ocean. Days prior to that, 30 pounds washed ashore in Ponte Vedra Beach.

“However this marijuana got loose from the distributor, or the trafficker, it’s coming ashore in different areas,” says SJSO Spokesperson Chuck Mulligan.

The packages are all wrapped different, however Mulligan says it’s likely they’re connected.

“It would be somewhat of an anomaly to have three separate shipments all be lost in transition at the same place, off the same coastline,” he says.

He says it’s likely there will be more that comes ashore as well. If you see any drugs, Mulligan is asking you to contact law enforcement immediately. You should not take possession of the drugs.

“If they were caught doing that, and the circumstances were suspicious in nature, they could be facing charges,” he says.

The drugs are weighed and cataloged by investigators, then if there is no pending criminal investigation, they are destroyed.